Where to start learning?

[Daisbea]

Hi! 
So im 16, and really want to learn how to identify fossils and learn different extinct species, but whenever i try, I always forget the information. How did you guys all learn this information, and where can I get what you used? 
 

 

thanks!

[doushantuo]

I've been 16 at least three times now,and I'm still learning.

Hi and welcome

In all probability you couldn't have come to a better place to start learning about fossils

 

Edited May 29, 2023 by doushantuo

[Daisbea]

21 minutes ago, doushantuo said:

I've been 16 at least three times now,and I'm still learning.

Hi and welcome

In all probability you couldn't have come to a better place to start learning about fossils

 

Where on here can I find some useful information outlining the basics?

[Fin Lover]

Welcome to the forum!  I would start by searching the forum for your location (for me, that would be South Carolina, Summerville, Charleston, etc.).  That should pull up posts where you can see what other people have found in the area, trip reports that might mention locations, any previous conversations about the formations in the area, etc.

[rocket]

Welcome to the Forum

16, long time ago 

TFF is a great place to learn, look to the threads Fossil ID and all the others.

To get a lot of informations about basics (as I contributer in Fossil-articles I would recommend) go to search in WIKIPEDIA. Most of the Wiki-infos are correct and nice, to learn it is a fantastic place.

Or, ask us with everything you like to know

 

[Ludwigia]

I would suggest you check out this section and search for literature for beginners. You could also simply google "Fossil literature for beginners" and you'll be garanteed to come up with some helpful hits. It's always good to start up a library, be it as data in your computor or as books, since if you forget, you can always look it up again

[grandpa]

There are a number of sources on the internet that you can use for a more formal approach.  Try searching terms like "basic geology for high school", basic paleontology for high school", "life through time", "the basics of fossilization", "evolution through time", "the tree of life", "geologic periods of earth's history", etc., etc.  You will find plenty of help on line.  Take biology and geology (if available) classes in high school. 

Remember important facts about geology that you want to recall like you remember other academic subjects' facts; write them down and commit them to memory through repetition. 

Like learning many other new subjects, knowing the specific vocabulary of the topic is key.  Make a list of new words and their definitions as you encounter them and commit them to memory so that they become a part of your natural vocabulary. 

And, of course, say tuned in to the forum to fill out your learning.   And feel free to ask questions as you go. 

 

Hope this helps, and welcome to the forum!

 

I see @Ludwigia beat me to it by a keystroke. 

Edited May 29, 2023 by grandpa

[patelinho7]

Take a look at the many pinned threads in every main topic on this forum! They are all fascinating even if not pertinent to your interests. They're also meant to help beginners along. Everyone has a different way of learning, you gotta find what works for you. But to reiterate what others have said here, you could read books, surf the web for articles and wiki pages, search up topics on the forum, take classes, take notes, whatever works. Some methods don't work as well for everyone, I'm not good with taking and retaining notes. I like photos and videos. There's many documentaries available for visual learners like myself. Also, think outside the box. Not every subject deals with prehistoric life, but it may still be helpful. I took an oceanography class my senior year of high school (last year actually!) that I thought would just be a schedule placeholder and not much more. I find myself remembering and using what I learned from that class with paleontology more than ever! Also, think about volunteering/working in a place of learning. A museum, zoo, aquarium, something like that. And best way to retain what you learn is by practice. Participate in forum threads to practice your knowledge of various topics! Just some ideas 

[Mark Kmiecik]

And if you have any questions about anything fossil/gelogy related ask them here. If we don't have the answer we'll at least know where to find it.

[Thomas.Dodson]

Everyone learns differently of course, but I'd start learning locally such as what you can or do collect and expand from there. Maryland fossil outcrops and formations and the species found within them for example. Many people find it easier to memorize such things when they have personal experience with them. There's an absurd amount of information available to you but keeping it confined to what you are going to experience is a good start. If you'd rather focus on learning to identify a certain group of fossil organisms that is fine too. I recommend starting smaller to start but you decide your own scale of what to start with.

 

For resources, any available classes or geology/paleontology clubs are a good place to learn. If there aren't any in your area that is fine too, there are other ways. Books can give basic fossil information and sometimes, if what you collect is famous enough, you can get detailed identification books. Paleontological societies and clubs can publish these or sell them. If books aren't available, publications are your best friend for learning identification. Finding digital publications has become much easier in recent years. Sometimes all you need to find them are a few keywords such as the organism type, the formation, and maybe a loose location.

 

I'll give a little walkthrough of a quick and basic literature search. I don't know much about Maryland stratigraphy but I know Calvert Cliffs and Miocene strata are famous so I'll use it as an example of a typical search for literature. I'm on a snail binge lately so I'll focus on them. First, I'm going to do a google search of "Miocene Gastropoda of Maryland". Notably, there are some websites in this list that give some identification help which could be helpful as well but let's focus on the literature. In the results "The Miocene Gastropod Fauna of Maryland by George Curtis Martin" from 1904 shows up. A little old and probably has some outdated taxonomy I'll need to look into later but it seems like something I'd want to find a copy of. I'm going to ignore the hardcopy on amazon and see the University of Chicago webpage listing. It contains an online holding that looks like this. There are two listed online sources of this publication.

I'm going to use the google books link (HERE) and download the PDF since I find it easier to read that way. The PDF has decent plates of each species and species descriptions which is what I want. Sometimes you can find these direct from google but in this case it was just a tiny bit more involved.

 

Remember we are looking for gastropods from the Calvert Cliffs. Sometimes we can find publications dedicated solely to a specific site of formation such as the Calvert Formation. However, even in these publications that cover more it is pretty typical for them to list what formations they have been found in under "occurrences". Take this species for example. I can see it occurs in the Calvert Formation.

If I'm lucky I can find an occurrence table of those found in the Calvert Formation. Maybe I want to make my own. Either way, I have this information available to me now. So what do I do with it? Since you mention forgetting information I want to make it clear that it is fine to forget how to identify things. What is most important is how to recover the literature and information to identify them. Over time you'll get better at remembering the species, their names, their diagnostic characters, etc.

 

A cursory glance at the plates is enough to identify most things. Spend as much time looking at your fossils compared to plates as you need. Eventually, differentiating them will become easier and over time you'll learn the terminology and characters that are most diagnostic. Good publications often include diagrams that list these. The terminology and characters can be confusing or frustrating sometimes but try not to let it get to you. If you can't find any figures or character descriptions to help you that is a perfect time for asking for help on the forum. The same applies to species you just can't find out on your own or you're not confident in. Collective knowledge helps a lot.

 

If you can't tell the difference from the plates, you may need to pay more attention to the description of the species. For example, let's say I'm looking at Turritella which can often be very similar and a headache to differentiate. I'm going to go the species descriptions to help me. As an example of a detailed description:

 

The best publications include characters to differentiate closely related species or the diagnostic character of the species. Otherwise, you're often left reading the whole species description or staring at the plates to find what separates some similar species.

 

If you can't find a digital publication that you want you may be able to find a hard copy still. Libraries with access to Inter-Library Loan are a great place to get a hold of these. Library databases can be used to find copies of these in the ILL network. I used to utilize these a lot back before digital publications before more common. The forum is also a good place to ask if you can't find a piece of literature. Chances are people will have a copy or know where to get one.

 

Hopefully this helps a bit on obtaining resources and isn't too overwhelming. Once again, the people on the forum are quite wiling to help if you have any specific questions.

 

 

 

 

[patelinho7]

1 hour ago, Thomas.Dodson said:

If you can't find a digital publication that you want you may be able to find a hard copy still. Libraries with access to Inter-Library Loan are a great place to get a hold of these. Library databases can be used to find copies of these in the ILL network. I used to utilize these a lot back before digital publications before more common. The forum is also a good place to ask if you can't find a piece of literature. Chances are people will have a copy or know where to get one.

 

I'd like to add that colleges are a godsend for informational resources, as I'm finding out. They give you amazing access to databases and collections for free as a student. Obviously that doesn't apply to you yet, but you could look into taking a college class in HS. I did that a couple times, and not only did I get credit applied to my current institution, but they gave high school dual-enrolled students access to many university resources. I've also talked to a few people with varying ages that take paleontology classes through the University of Maryland. Colleges also have lots of remote/online options in our post-COVID world.

[Fin Lover]

1 hour ago, Thomas.Dodson said:

There's an absurd amount of information available to you but keeping it confined to what you are going to experience is a good start.

I agree.  I knew nothing about fossils or my state's stratigraphy when I joined this forum.  I started with a local fossil ID book, this forum, and websites like fossilguy.com to ID what I was finding.  It seemed daunting to me at first to have to learn all of the scientific names, etc., but it happened more quickly (and was easier to remember) than I expected, since I was fossil hunting and browsing the forum regularly. 

 

Browsing the Fossil ID section on this forum is a great way to learn scientific names and what defining/diagnostic features to look for.  Keep at it and you will likely be able to help other members with IDs sooner than you think! 

[grandpa]

3 hours ago, Mark Kmiecik said:

If we don't have the answer we'll at least know where to find it.

Or we'll make something up that sounds good.